From the historical perspective, eating establishments which prepare food and drink and serve it to customers have been available for centuries. The word "restaurant", however, was not utilized until after about 1750. At first the word "restaurant" referred only to the eating section of a hotel or to a coffee house patronized by the rich. By the 1900's, however, the word "restaurant" was utilized for several different types of eating establishments. Today, the word "restaurant" is utilized for almost any facility that serves food. Restaurants range from the small hamburger stand to the most expensive night club or eating establishment. Almost all of these eating establishments have at least one thing in common, a list or menu of food and drinks that is offered for sale to customers. These lists or menus of food and drink are sometimes displayed in large bold print and are relatively easy to read by all patrons. However, these types of menus are normally found in eating establishments known as "fast-food" or "carry-out" eating places and also cafeterias. In other eating establishments, patrons are typically greeted by a host or hostess and are seated at a table or booth. These patrons are typically provided with a menu, being a list of foods that are offered by the eating establishment. The list, bill of fare, or more commonly known as a menu, might be a simple one page list or a multiple page listing. The printed matter on these menus vary in size from one menu to another and from one restaurant to another. Normally, the lighting in these establishments is sufficient so that those with normal vision are able to read the printed word without causing exceptional eye strain. However, in many restaurants the lighting is dimmed or candle light is used to impart a desirable atmosphere for the enjoyment of the patrons. This presents a problem even for many patrons having normal vision. More particularly, those patrons who use eyeglasses or other aids for reading, are drastically affected if the light in the restaurant environment is quite dim. It is desirable, therefore, to provide menus typically in the form of folders or booklets for use by restaurant patrons where the menus incorporate the capability by the patrons to magnify the print on the menu page so that it becomes more readable to all patrons, including those patrons having relatively poor vision. The term "booklet" as used herein is intended to encompass a wide variety of printed items such as restaurant menus as discussed above, folded maps, map books or booklets, recipes, receipts, catalogs, letters, photographs, etc.
Although restaurant patrons can be provided with a magnifying device, such as a conventional lens, a Fresnel lens or other flat sheet type lens for the purpose of magnifying the print of the menus, it becomes relatively easy for the lens to become separated from the menu so that it is not readily available for use by the customer. In some cases, magnifying lenses which are provided for use by customers become lost or are taken by customers because of their desirability for other purposes. Consequently, it is desirable to provide a restaurant menu or booklet magnification system wherein a lens, particularly a flat sheet type lens, is physically attached to the structure of the menu or booklet itself, yet can be moved to an appropriate position by the patron or other user for accomplishing desired magnification of the print. For maximum magnification of print by flat, sheet type lenses, such as Fresnel lenses, it is considered desirable to position the substantially flat sheet lens at a distance of approximately four inches from the printed page to be read and to be positioned in substantially horizontal relation with the printed page. A facility for attaching the flat sheet lens to the menu and yet providing the patron with the capability of positioning the lens at a distance of about four inches from the printed page has heretofore been unavailable. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a menu or other booklet construction which will permit permanent attachment of a flat sheet lens to the menu structure and yet allow the patrons to make effective use of it for magnification of the print.
Although the present invention is described herein principally in connection with the use of Fresnel lenses for magnification of printed matter, this invention is not intended to be limited in any manner whatever by the recitation of any particular lens structure. The scope of this invention, therefore, is intended to include any suitable lens mechanism that is considered suitable for the intended purpose.
In many cases, restaurants with extensive menus offer a sufficient variety of food for service to patrons that a multiple page menu is virtually necessary. In such case, attachment of a flat sheet type lens, such as a Fresnel lens, so as to position it between certain pages will typically be ineffective for enabling the patron to use the lens for magnification of any of the pages of the menu. Thus, it is desirable to provide a lens magnification system for pamphlets or booklets such as restaurant menus which enable a lens, such as a flat sheet lens, to be permanently attached to the menu structure and yet permit the customer to turn the pages of the booklet or menu and thus enable the customer to adequately utilize the lens for magnifying the print on all pages thereof.